


Just Fine

by peacenik0



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Season/Series 11, The Unremarkable House (X-Files)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:12:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15661137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacenik0/pseuds/peacenik0
Summary: MSR/ mid season 11 (so no mention of baby)Mulder and Scully find some healing as they work their way back to each other.





	Just Fine

\---

“Are you going to take a nap?” Scully asks Mulder who is splayed out on the bed. His muscles feel tight with exhaustion. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she is comfortable in black leggings and a blue t-shirt. Come to think of it, Mulder looks down to notice that he is also wearing a blue shirt and black track pants. Mulder remembers reading about old married couples and how they eventually start to dress alike. They were never married though. But regardless Mulder likes when she is relaxed like this, when she is comfortable around him. Mostly he just likes having her here more often.

“Maybe,” his voice is muffled, cottony. “I’m just sore,” he sighs in pain. Scully wanders over to the bed and ruffles his hair. It’s Saturday, he could actually take nap. He used to be bothered by this fact, but the years of insomnia have caught up to him.

“Too many reps?” she asks, running a hand along his bicep. Mulder shifts over uncomfortably and props his head up on his hand.

“No, just old man syndrome,” he winces. Scully tsks. But then she sees it. 

“You kept the comforter,” Scully touches the shiny black material, her voice almost seems far away.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to get rid of it,” he looks away from her. “It made things seem too…” he stops, wincing on the inside this time. Too final he wants to say, but he knows she doesn’t like to talk about it. Scully looks down, uncomfortably tracing the pattern.

“Do you want me to rub your back?” Scully says interrupting his train of thought. She carefully runs her fingers on this left shoulder. It sends a light tingling sensation over his skin, like a whisper.

“Sure. You are the best at it,” he rumbles happily.

“Oh, I’d say that you’re pretty good at it yourself,” she grins at him. Things are starting to seem good between them again. Comfortable. But Mulder is still unsure where they stand. It’s perpetual, this uncertainty. And he knows that for Scully, what’s even worse, is having to talk about it.

“Thank you,” he rolls over so that he is face down, but turns his head towards her. She stretches down to touch her toes and limber up her muscles. When she catches him watching, she shifts so he can get a good view of her ass. He remembers she used to do the same move back in the office. Teasing him ruthlessly with her heels and pencil skirts. He used to think it was an accident, but now he knows better.

“If you’re going to keep doing that, in those skin-tight pants, Scully…” he waggles his eyebrows. She snaps up, and turns towards him.

“You’ll what? Fall asleep just as I was getting in the mood, like you did last night?” She cocks an eyebrow at him, but softens it with a grin.

“Ouch,” he chuckles, and pats the bed next to him. “ I don’t know how you expect me to stay awake during a... wait a minute… " he pauses for effect. "You get turned on by watching a six hour Ken Burns documentary ?” he shakes his head and Scully shrugs. “You know what, I’m not surprised. You always had a thing for Eleanor Roosevelt” he smirks. Scully tosses a pillow at him playfully. Then moves next to him, and begins scratching his scalp, which is the way she always starts. He sighs in contentment.

“You know Eleanor Roosevelt…” Scully begins, but Mulder quickly interupts her.

“Why don’t you straddle me…

“Mulder !” she interjects pretending to be offended. But she quickly swings her legs over his larger frame and settles just below his tail bone.

“To get better leverage,” he groans pretending that she has knocked all of the air out of him. Scully tsks. Even though Mulder cannot see her face, he imagines her raised right eyebrow. “Short stuff,” he teases. She pinches him.

”Anyway…Eleanor Roosevelt was known as…” she tries to continue, but Mulder has heard this one before.

“The first lady of the world,” he finishes her sentence.

“Fine, fine, I won’t bore you with my extensive knowledge of Eleanor Roosevelt,” she says lightly. She could bore him all she wants, that would be just fine.

She begins working his muscles, lightly drawing her thumbs over his neck. Rubbing his ears, pressing her palms into his shoulders. She continues like this for a while, as Mulder relaxes further into the mattress. Her upper body needs a rest, so she gently falls forwards and presses her chest to his back. Scully sighs as she leans her chin into the dip above his collar bone.

“Kiss me,” he says their mouths close.

“You don’t want to kiss me, I have pesto breath,” she leans her cheek against his. She giggles and he can feel the reverberations through his whole body.

“Ahh, kiss me anyway,” he says softly.

“Fine,” she gives him a quick peck on the lips, then on his cheek. Their eyes settle together.

“See, I told you, you are the best,” he chuckles happily. It’s been a while since he’s felt this warm, this cared for. It’s a bittersweet thought. Bitter from their split, sweet from their reunion.

“I missed this,” she says tentatively, the weight of thousands of memories in her voice.

“Me too,” he whispers. There is so much he wants to say to her. So much he wants to ask. ”Dana…” Mulder begins, but then he feels Scully tense up against his body. She is getting uncomfortable, and he doesn’t want that. Mulder can’t ruin things for them again. But Scully is already rolling off the bed, and heading towards the bathroom.

“Come back, my butt’s getting cold,” he cracks, trying to lighten the mood. Scully turns towards him and grins, this makes him feel relieved. Mulder gingerly gets off of the bed, the crack of his shoulders and knees perturbs him. He never thought he would make it this far, never thought he would get this old. Even still, if he has Scully with him, it makes all the aches and pains worth it.

In the bathroom, Mulder finds Scully carefully removing her earrings and placing them in a dish on the sink. Their eyes meet in the mirror. When Scully opens the medicine cabinet, she makes a surprised little sound. She closes the door producing a new toothbrush, and her favorite brand of toothpaste. True to form, they never liked the same things, even when it came to toothpaste.

“I thought maybe," he pauses to gain her reaction. "Maybe since you seemed to be spending more time here…”

“Mulder…” she starts but can’t finish. There is too much.

“Things… things have been good haven’t they?” he asks taking her hand and interlacing their fingers.” You’ve been… happier with me?”

“Yes, yes, they have,” she says unable to keep tears from forming at the corners of her eyes. She falls into his arms, he catches her, like he always does.

“Just think about it, OK?”

“OK, I will”

—

A week later

Mulder wakes up to the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. He stumbles into the bathroom. His eyes drift down to see a new ceramic holder in Scully’s favorite shade of blue. Their toothbrushes face each other. He smiles. Scully wanders in the bathroom, her face clean, her hair still damp from the shower. Her shoulders are relaxed. She puts a cup of coffee on the sink. She grabs her dental floss, and begins flossing.

“I’m keeping my place,” she says, he voice muffled, but her intent clear. It’s a fact, not a negotiation. She looks down, her difficulty with the subject matter is obvious.

“ OK,” he says through toothpaste bubbles. This may be the only time they ever talk about this, so he has to choose his next words carefully. “You need to tell me if something’s wrong,” he says softly. “Don’t hold it all in,” Mulder touches her arm.

“I’ll try,” she says her voice breaks a little. Scully clears her throat and then continues. “Maybe you could really try and listen this time…” she drifts off. Mulder can see the unshed tears in her eyes.

“I promise that I’ll try.” Mulder really means it this time. Besides, he’s wiser now, more settled. The sharp blade of many difficult years with her ( and without her), has worn off his rough edges. Mulder pulls her close to him, and her floss drops into the sink. He feels her sob against his chest, and he just holds her for a long time. She burrows into him, and he breathes in the scent of her shampoo. Finally she reaches up to whisper in his ear.

“ Well I guess it’s settled then.” She says, and he reads into the space between her words.

Maybe they can finally get it right this time around.


End file.
